WAR for INDEPENDENCE Elsing Gfreen (Carter Braxton House 1758

TH: WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE

Ftfrm 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Vi rinia COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES King William INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER (Type all entries — complete applicable sections)

COMMON: Elsing Gfreen (Carter Braxton House 1758-1767) AND/OR HISTORIC: Elsing Green

STREET AND NUMBER!FOI I OW Rte 3Q i.i-miles north from King William Court House to Rte 629; right on 629 35-miles to .junction with Rte 623. left here for 3.9 CITY OR TOWN: miles to a private road (marked by brick pillars) , right here King William Court House 1-mile to house.

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CATEGORY ACCESSIBLE OWNERSHIP STATUS (Check One) TO THE PUBLIC

Q District Building CD Public Public Acquisition: W£ Occupied Yes: Q Restricted D Site Structure KX Privote f~l In Process D Unoccupied CD Unrestricted Object D Botn | | Being Considered CDi inPreservation . work in progress S No

PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate)

2| Agricultural Q Government Q Park CD Transportation CD Comments CD Commercial CD Industrial 2£?9 Privote Residence CD Other (Specify) D Educational D Military Q Religious Q Entertainment D Museum Q Scientific

OWNER'S NAME: Mr. and Mrs. Edward R. Lafferty, Jr. STREET AND NUMBER: Elsing Green CITY OR TOWN: King William Court House 23086

COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: King William Court House STR-EET, AND NUMBER:

Cl TY OR TOWN: King William Court House Virginia

TITLE OF SURVEY: Historic American Buildings Survey (8 photos) DATE OF SURVEY: 1936. 1937 Federal State County CD Local DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: Division of Prints and Photography f Library of Congress STREET AND NUMBER:

CITY OR TOWN:

Washington D.C.

>- ' (Check One)

Excellent CD Good Fair 3 Deteriorated Q Ruins [~1 Unexposed CONDITION (Check One) (Check One) Altered Q Unaltered Moved }Of Original Site

DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Elsing Green, built in 1758, is a very large brick U-shaped early Georgian mansion, with two wings projecting to the north. In elevation the house is seven-bays long on the south or river front, and is two full stories high beneath a hipped roof. Each side elevation is five- bays long, with a center door, and on the north or rear facade appears the two wings and the axial court. The latter has a center door with a window on either side, and the north ends of the wings have a narrow window on either side of the chimney pier. Except for the narrow wing- windows all of the others have nine over nine light sash, with the upper slightly diminishing in size. The brickwork, regularly laid in Flemish bond throughout, has rubbed and gauged dressings and a high molded water table. Windows are topped by flat arches of splayed bricks. The second floor level is marked by a string course of gauged brick, unmolded and four courses high. In restoration work a reconstructed pedimented gauged brick doorway (such as lines in the original brickwork showed onee exis ted) was installed in the center of the south or river facade.

The unusual length and depth of Elsing Green gives an impression of great size, which is accentuated by the site of the house on a high terrace overlooking the Pamunkey River. The main house is flanked by two old and detached dependencies. These are a story and a half high, of brick, and parallel the long axis of the mansion. The eastern dependency may date from 1719. The western dependency is a restored kitchen. A smoke house and dairy have been reconstructed on their original founda tions and are symmetrically placed in the building complex.

In plan, an off-center hall extends from the south center-door halfway through the mansion, to intersect a east-west cross hall which runs the length of the mansion. The southeast corner is occupied by a very large east parlor, the southwest corner by a smaller living room, and each -of the north wings by a single large room. The east and west ends of the cross hall each contain stairway set against the south wall that leads to the second floor. This plan is repeated in the second story, where there are 4 bedrooms. The original interior finish of Elsing Green was destroyed in a fire around 1800 and the existing wood work dates from the 1930 rebuilding and is a reconstruction of 18th- century woodwork. The mansion and grounds are well kept, and much care and expense has been used in the restoration, which was carried out with the help of specialists from Colonial Williamsburg. The mansion is used as a private residence and is not open to visitors. PERIOD (Checft One or More as Appropriate) I I Pre-Columbian | I I 16th Century 18th Century 20th Century D 15th Century Q 17th Century 19th Century

SPECIFIC DATE(S) (It Applicable and Known) 1758-1767 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Aboriginal Q Education JX] Political [| Urban Planning

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Built in 1758, Elsing Green was the home of Carter Braxton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence for Virginia, planter, and politician, from 1758 to 1767. The exterior of this fine Georgian house is little^altered. The original interior, however, was destroyed by a fire around 1800 and the existing 18-century style interior woodwork was reconstructed and installed in the 20th-century.

Brief Sketch of the Life of Carter Braxton, 1736-1797

Carter Braxton was born at Newington Plantation, King and Queen County, Virginia, on September 10, 1736, the son of a wealthy planter. He was educated at the College of William and Mary and was later a member of its board of visitors. In 1756 he married Judith Robinson, who died in December 1757. Braxton spent the years i758 to 1760 in England and on his return in 1761, married Elizabeth Corbin. In 1767 Braxton built and moved to a new plantation house, "Chericoke," located in King William County, Virginia. Hd was a member of the House of Burgesses from 1761 to 1775 and also of the provincial conven tions of Virginia from 1774 to 1776. -He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776 but was not reappointed in 1777. He returned to Virginia and served in the House of the Virginia Assembly from 1777 to about 1797. Losses during the Revolution, his long public service, and his unfortunate commercial ventures during his last years had wrecked his fortune. In 1786 he took up residence in Richmond, Virginia, where he died on October 14, 1797. He was buried, however, in a unmarked grave in the family graveyard on the "Chericoke" plantation, King William County.

HISTORY OF HOUSE

The date 1758 and initials of the builder, Carter Braxton, are inscribed in a panel in the walls. The house is said to have been built by his brother George during Braxton's absence in England, 1758-1760. In 1767 Carter Braxton moved to the new house he erected on "Chericoke" plantation. Elsing Green was sold to the Browne and Greeorv families. |||||ii|§|::::|Ji|i|i|G«;AP^ie;At':-^f MflNC&S ; ? '>&< "^ ' $. ' ^^^l^^^i^^f^^ :>t.. g" : jr ^ ^ *. : S:&&:1

Virginia, A Guide to the Old Dominion (American Guide Series) (New Yorl:,1947) 600-601. Thomas T. Waterman, The Mansions of Virginia, 1706-1776 (Chapel Hill, 1946), 200-203, 416.

The Dictionary of American Biography , Vol. II, 609-610. Article by Richard L. Morton. Elizabeth Fields and Dr. J.E. Fields "The Signers Lived Here," Daughters of the American Revoluticm Magazine, May 1951, 8. lliiil||illii^i:pti^ w v"v: -%: ^." :;"=^;, ^:--^:.^f ,, , :. r""" :. .. ..: -< '-^'^w LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY 3 DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY ROF LESS THAN TEN ACRES

CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE LATITUDE LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds NW 37 ° 37 ' 45 77° 03' 49" O m O ' NE 37 ° 37 ' 45 " 77° 00' 49" 37 36 08 77 03 06 SE 37 ° 35 ' 03 " 77° 00' 49" Location of house SW 37 o 3S OS " 77° m» 49» APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: 3 f QOO acres total; 753 acres in landmark |LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES

STATE: ' CODE COUNTY CODE m m

STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE

STATE: CODE COUNTY : CODE

STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE H TO Sl^îîlî^î^îl^S^-l^p^'P'^.^' ;:;: ::^? :^îf^l^lS:S^^^SII?:^':^W C. NAME AND TITLE: n Charles W. Snell , Survey Historian ORGANIZATION Division of History, Office of Archeology and DATE Historic Preservation, National Park Service 6/4/71 STREET AND NUMBER: o 801 - 19th Street N.W. •z. CITY OR TOWN: STATE CODE Wa shine-ton ::1:$8&:»i!iR:iB;^B:::'^ l-^ftTSViWÎ^STjBS::*:'^*^!^":^ W:":" *!^:R:^*::.» S-'jVs ': fj: ' V:" ¥: '<•*?.¥?;. j&\\f- :..'•• ' :;: .%-, : ^PMIM^

As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law I hereby certify that this property is included in the 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion National Register. in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recommended Chief, Office of Archeology and Historic Presetvation level of significance of this nomination is: National Q State Q Local Q

Date Name ATTEST:

Title

Keeper of The National Register

Date Date Form 10-300a UNITED •ES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (•July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Virginia NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM King William FOR NFS USE ONLY (Continuation Sheet) ENTRY NUMBER DATE (Number all entries) Elsing Green 8. Significance (1) (Carter Braxton House 1758-1767)

About 1800 Elsing Green suffered a severe fire and the interior woodwork was almost completely rebuilt. The house was rehabili tated and restored by Mr. and Mrs. Beverley Causey in the 1920's. The present owners acquired the mansion and about 1,100 acres of land in 1932. The estate now includes about 3,000 acres, much of which is in pasture and farmland. The house and grounds are not open to visitors.

2. Boundaries for the Historic Site Elsing Green:

Approximately 753 acres in the shape of a trapezoid, including the Elsing Green plantation house and dependencies, starting at the northwest corner on the north shoulder of County Route 632 at latitude 37° 37 f 15" N.- longitude 77° 02 f 42" W., proceeding southeast along the north shoulder of County Route 632 for about 4100-feet to the northeast corner at a junction with a dirt road at latitude 37° 37 f 44" N. - long. 77° 02 f 10" W., then going to the southwest along the east shoulder of the dirt road about 7000- feet to the southeast corner on the north bank of the Pamunkey River at lat. 37° 35 f 35" N. - long. 77O 02 f 38" W., then continuing along the north bank of the river to the north-west about 5200 feet to the southwest corner at lat. 37° 36' 05" N. - long. 77° 03' 32" W., then returning to the northeast east in a straight line about 8000-feet to the beginning, the northwest corner. Precise boundaries, as described above, are recorded in black ink on a copy of U.S. Geological Survey Map: Tunstall Quadrangle, Virginia, 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic), 1966, on file with the Branch of Historical Surveys, Division of History, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, National Park Service.

Total acreage in the Elsing Green Plantation (May 1971) is about 3,000 acres. Of this total about 753 acres are included in the historic site boundaries described above.